Genesis 21:13
in Genesis 21But I will also make a nation of the slave woman’s son, because he is your offspring.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And also of the son of the handmaid will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
KJV
And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
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This verse in Genesis 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verse(2.) Many are full of the blessings of God's providence that are strangers to the blessings of his covenant. (3.) The children of this world often fare the better, as to outward things, for their relation to the children of God. God's Mercy to Hagar and Ishmael.
This site's exposition
this matter distressed Abraham greatly
on Genesis 21:11-13
Abraham is distressed over Ishmael, named here as his son. God tells him to listen to everything Sarah says, and that through Isaac his offspring will be reckoned. Paul quotes that clause at Romans 9:7 and Hebrews at 11:18. Verse 13 promises Ishmael a nation of his own.
This site's exposition
because he is your offspring
The reason given is Abraham, because he is your offspring. Matthew Henry draws a line here between the blessings of providence, which Ishmael receives, and the blessings of the covenant, which run through Isaac. He adds that the children of this world often fare better for their tie to the children of God.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
That the casting out of Ishmael was necessary to the establishment of Isaac in the rights and privileges of the covenant: In Isaac shall thy seed be called. Both Christ and the church must descend from Abraham through the loins of Isaac; this is the entail of the promise upon Isaac, and is quoted by the apostle ( Rom. ix.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation,.... A great nation, as is promised, Gen 17:20; and such the Ishmaelites and Saracens have been, and the Turks now are, the descendants of Ishmael.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
This is to be understood in connection with the above: And he gave to Hagar [the bread and bottle of water]… and the child, for he gave her the child also to go with her wherever she will go.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְגַ֥ם | vegam | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הָאָמָ֖ה | haamah | the slave woman | H519 → | 56 times |
| לְג֣וֹי | legoy | into a nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֲשִׂימֶ֑נּוּ | ʾasimenu | I will make him | H7760 → | 584 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| זַרְעֲךָ֖ | zarakha | [is] offspring your | H2233 → | 229 times |
| הֽוּא׃ | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
וְגַ֥םand also
vegamH1571 →769 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
הָאָמָ֖הthe slave woman
haamahH519 →56 times
לְג֣וֹיinto a nation
legoyH1471 →561 times
אֲשִׂימֶ֑נּוּI will make him
ʾasimenuH7760 →584 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
זַרְעֲךָ֖[is] offspring your
zarakhaH2233 →229 times
הֽוּא׃he
hu'H1931 →1879 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 17:20As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make…
it leads to
- Genesis 21:18
Get up, lift up the boy, and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 25:12–18
This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 16:10–12
Then the angel added, “I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count.”
- Genesis 21:18
Through
Genesis 16:10Then the angel added, “I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count.”
it leads to
- Genesis 17:20
As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 83:6–7
the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites,
- Genesis 22:15–18
And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time,
- Genesis 17:20
Through
Genesis 21:18Get up, lift up the boy, and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”
it leads to
- Genesis 16:10
Then the angel added, “I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count.”
- 1 Chronicles 1:29–31
These are their genealogies:
- Genesis 16:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies8
On this verse
About Genesis
This page draws on John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.